Orienting Oneself As A Game

I’ve found that life can be a long more bearable to travel through if I can make games out of stressful or tedious situations. And one game that I am working on these days (or should I say "playing") is that of keeping my bearings in unfamiliar locations, be they indoors or outdoors.

When outside at night (as long as the city lights aren't too strong and the sky is at least partially clear), it is no difficult task for me to look up at the sky and figure out the directions by the stars and their associated constellations. In the day, the Sun gives away the directions (unless it is very overcast, which can make things interesting). Driving down roads (or even riding as a passenger) can present a greater challenge with a partially obstructed view of the sky, although I usually seem to have a pretty good knack for knowing about which roads I'm on and where they lead. Inside buildings, though, it can be more formidable, especially if I am winding through hallways and turning several corners to reach my destination. So, sometimes, just for the fun of it, when I am walking through a building which is like this, I’ll continually keep tabs on which cardinal direction I am facing, as well as how I have been winding my way through it. Of course, this is really more than just fun: it’s good mental exercise and strengthens the memory! Try it sometimes, if this sort of thing is your “cup of tea”. To me, it is similar to going through a maze. Wild Adventures theme park in Valdosta, Georgia has a maze, and I plan to try it out the next time we go there. The process with a maze is the same as keeping track of where you are in a building: you need to not only know which direction you’re facing, but also have a good memory of where you have been. And relying on a compass, GPS, map, building blueprint, or your own ongoing notes with this type of game is most definitely cheating!